As the Stowe Center opens our NEW Gallery for Literary Activism, we welcome a bold inaugural exhibit: Revolutionary [Re]Imagining, a stirring visual journey by Connecticut artist and self-described “artivist” David Jackson. Through this multi-generational and multi-sensory exhibition, Jackson invites visitors to sit with the tension, beauty, and power of Black literary activism. This exhibit is free and open to the public from May through October and is accessible in the Visitor Center during all open hours. Please scroll to the bottom of the article for details about public events relating to the exhibit.

We sat down with David to talk about his creative process, his inspirations, and how this exhibit challenges us to see, feel, and act differently.

Art as Legacy, Art as Liberation

“I’m not just painting faces,” Jackson says. “I’m channeling voices.”

Spanning two decades of work, Revolutionary [Re]Imagining features intentional portraits of visionary figures—Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Tupac Shakur, Erykah Badu, and others—interwoven with abstract elements, color symbolism, and raw materials. Each piece carries both personal and political weight.

“I call them iconographies,” Jackson explains. “It’s not just likeness; it’s memory, message, and spirit.”

The exhibit is both a personal timeline and a cultural mirror. In one corner, you’ll find graphite and acrylic portraits with precise detail. In another, red-toned canvases—his “Power Series”—call up urgency and intensity, inspired by everything from Jay-Z lyrics to Mark Rothko’s emotional color fields.

The Psychology of Paint

With a background in psychology, Jackson’s work blends surrealism, symbolism, and somatic reflection. In Train of Thought, for example, he uses real sponges to depict brain functions, and literal chips on shoulders to explore trauma and resilience. He pairs pop culture references with deep dives into race, policy, and survival—”visual noise” that speaks volumes.

“I wanted to break rules on purpose,” he says. “I used to worry about perfection. Now, I worry about truth.”

Harriet’s Inconvenient Truths

A centerpiece of the exhibit is Jackson’s commission for the Stowe Center: Harriet’s Inconvenient Truths: Tipping the Scale of Transcendence. Created through Kamora’s Cultural Corner’s “Black Art Heals” initiative, the piece is a visual conversation between Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Josiah Henson, and contemporary voices in the struggle for liberation.

Incorporating found objects, biblical imagery, historical references, and input from Stowe Center staff, Jackson says this was one of his most collaborative works yet. “I got to step into Harriet’s shoes,” he reflects. “To listen. To learn. To absorb the room—like a sponge.”

Why This Exhibit, Why Now?

“Art is the pause,” Jackson says. “The invitation to slow down and sit with discomfort.”

He hopes Revolutionary [Re]Imagining inspires new dialogues about race, power, liberation—and what it means to imagine a freer world. “We [the Black community] are not asking for a handout,” he says. “Just don’t build against us. Leave the door open. We’ll build.”

More than a gallery exhibit, this is a call to reimagine what’s possible—together.

Mariangie Pena is the Stowe on the Go Sales and Marketing Manager of the Stowe Center for Literary Activism. Our vision is a world in which engagement leads to empathy, empowerment, and change for good.